The State Bar of California has proposed amendments to comments accompanying several Rules of Professional Conduct addressing lawyers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI).
The proposed comments do not create new ethical duties.  Rather, they elaborate how existing rules apply to lawyers’ use of AI.  Although the proposed comments would apply only in California, they make explicit duties that are implicit in professional conduct rules in most jurisdictions.
The proposed comments repeatedly emphasize themes that should surprise no careful lawyer:  lawyers must understand the risks and benefits of relevant technology, protect confidential information, supervise subordinate lawyers and staff, communicate appropriately…
Continue Reading California’s Proposed Ethics Rules Emphasize Duty to Avoid AI Hallucinations

The AALS and West Academic sponsored a great CLE on AI tools for law faculty on April 15.  Here’s the description of the program and a link to the video.
How can artificial intelligence streamline course preparation, enrich classroom engagement, and support student learning?  This webinar brought together experienced legal educators who shared practical strategies for using AI to support law teaching.  They described how AI can assist with day-to-day teaching tasks such as generating hypos, refining rubrics, organizing course materials and presentations, and designing formative assessments, as well as how to evaluate AI outputs with a critical, professional…
Continue Reading AI Tools for Law Faculty

Marc Galanter, a giant in the field of dispute resolution scholarship, passed away on April 14 at the age of 95.
Here is an excerpt from the announcement by University of Wisconsin Law School Dean Daniel P. Tokaji (reprinted with permission):
As many of you know, Marc was the John and Rylla Bosshard Professor of Law and South Asian Studies, the author of many books and articles, and a treasured member of the Law School community.  Marc was a legendary scholar and teacher, to such a degree that it’s hard to know where to begin in summarizing his life’s work. …
Continue Reading Marc Galanter

The ABA Dispute Resolution Section, AAA and ACR are exploring potential updates to the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators (“Model Standards”) (2005). They invite your input to help identify areas that may need clarification, modernization, or further guidance based on today’s mediation practices. Your responses will remain confidential and will directly inform the review process. Thank you for contributing your voice to this important discussion.
As a member of the Advisory Committee for the revision of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators, I would invite anyone with a perspective on the Model Standards to fill out the following brief…
Continue Reading Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators (update – survey)

A lot of people are bummed about AI.  Are you?
Me too.
That may not be what you expected me to say.  I have been writing quite a bit about how to use AI effectively and responsibly.  I use it regularly.  I encourage others to learn how to use it.
And still, there are plenty of reasons why I feel bummed, as I describe in this short new article.
A small group of companies and countries have enormous control over AI.  The economic system is being disrupted, aggravating inequality.  Whole categories of jobs are disappearing.  AI systems use…
Continue Reading Bummed About AI?  So Am I.  Now What?

Every year US News ranks law schools overall as well as by specialty areas, one of which is dispute resolution.  Fortunately the specialty rankings are purely peer-based as opposed to some arbitrary number – like bar passage.  It’s so unfair that some states have diploma privilege and therefore law schools in those states get a 100% pass rate for US News ranking purposes and states like Arizona have the highest bar cut score in the country and our school is penalized for it – despite having a great pass rate (much higher than the state average, which would be a…
Continue Reading 2026 US News Dispute Resolution Rankings

With great sadness, our field learned of the passing of Isabelle Gunning. Those of us at Indisputably felt that the most meaningful way to honor her life and legacy was to invite people who knew her well to share reflections with our community. We are especially grateful to   Sharon Press (Mitchell-Hamline) and Ellen Deason (Ohio State), who worked closely with Isabelle, for offering the remembrance that follows.
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We are honored and humbled to have been asked to share some words in memory of our dear friend and colleague, Isabelle Gunning, who passed away on March 28, 2026. She…
Continue Reading In Memory – Isabelle R. Gunning (1956-2026)

Colleagues recently had a lively discussion on the DRLE listserv about negotiation and mediation theory.  This post summarizes my perspective and includes my posts in that discussion. I hadn’t planned to write the series of posts, but comments in this thread prompted me to summarize my perspective.  Many of the comments raise broad questions about … Continue reading Negotiation and Mediation Theory After 30+ Years:  A Practice-Based Framework →
Continue Reading Negotiation and Mediation Theory After 30+ Years:  A Practice-Based Framework

From FOI Professor Andrew Mamo: Hiro is pointing us toward a broader set of conversations that directly implicate our field, including but not limited to Gadamer-Habermas, and I agree that these debates should be far better known within the dispute resolution field. The distinction between strategic and communicative action, for example, poses hard questions for … Continue reading Habermas, AI, and more: post by Andrew Mamo →
Continue Reading Habermas, AI, and more: post by Andrew Mamo

A year after the Trump administration came after law firms, the dust has still not settled.  (Just last week, the DOJ both withdrew and then refiled its defense against the law firms that sued the administration for unlawful targeting.)  But it is worth taking a step back and considering what we have already learned about … Continue reading Negotiation Theories for Law Firms…. →
Continue Reading Negotiation Theories for Law Firms….

Here’s a debate about whether generative AI threatens the survival of key civic institutions – followed by a conversation with RPS Coach about these issues that may surprise you. Woodrow Hartzog and Jessica M. Silbey wrote How AI Destroys Institutions.  Here’s the abstract. Civic institutions—the rule of law, universities, and a free press—are the backbone … Continue reading Will AI Destroy Institutions? →
Continue Reading Will AI Destroy Institutions?

I was inspired to write this after reading Carrie’s and Andrew’s fascinating posts on the subject. I knew of Carrie’s engagement with Habermas, but I didn’t realize that others in the field were also steeped in his work. It makes me think we should have a symposium on Habermas (and Bush?) — any takers? Before … Continue reading On Habermas and DR →
Continue Reading On Habermas and DR

In the space of two weeks, the field of dispute resolution lost Robert Baruch Bush, the prophet of the transformative model of mediation, and the world lost Jürgen Habermas, the philosopher whose theory of communication and rationality provides a normative justification for much of dispute resolution—even if few American legal scholars in this field engage … Continue reading On Habermas & Bush: from Andrew Mamo →
Continue Reading On Habermas & Bush: from Andrew Mamo